A Forced Smile
by Diao Lover
Summary: A short 5 chapter prologue to Betrayals of the Heart, give it a chance and please review. I can't think of a summary for it, but just take a chance and read or review it! It's complete!
1. Family of Liars

**Here is a short 5 chapter prequel to Betrayals of the Heart, it reveals a little of her backstory. Though I mainly created it to help get rid of my writer's block for my current stories. I hope that it's good and that you all like it! It takes place before the Battle of Hu Lao Gate and just before the plan starts, though you'll understand it later.**

**To create a slight difference between the two stories, Diao Chan is in her DW7 outfit and appearance instead of her DW8 outfit and appearance for this story. Each chapter will be around 500 to 1500 words.**

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A woman of unparalleled beauty and grace stared sadly at the pond, crouched down on her knees. Many would of thought that a woman of beauty even greater then a Goddess would be happy but this one wasn't.

Her name was Diao Chan and she was a dancer and singer with skill that none could compare to. A few tears escaped through her eyes as slowly stood up, her dress resembling a beautiful flower. Diao Chan's eyes conveyed such sadness that one wondered what had happened to her.

But her sadness wasn't for herself, it was for her adopted father Wang Yun. He had treated her like a real daughter when he had taken her in. At age 7 he had found her and now she was 19. It had been a mere 12 years since she had been in his care, but they were the only years she could remember.

Diao Chan had no knowledge of her real parents or anything before she was 7 years old. There was only one thing she could remember about her childhood before she had been found by Wang Yun.

And from what she could remember she was on the run from something, covered in commoner's clothing which suggested she had been a mere peasant. There was a village on fire and she was running away from it, following a crane.

Diao Chan remembered living in the wild for a few days, only surviving thanks to the crane which showed her which food was edible, which would kill her and the water that she had drank from to prevent dehydration and death.

She also remembered a tiger which had been friendly and protected her from bandits. It had lost it's life in the process and she mourned it heavily. Bt she remembered waking up one day and seeing the crane fly away, she followed it and that was when she met Wang Yun and introduced herself, the only thing she knew was her own name: Diao Chan.

That was the last she ever saw of that crane and Wang Yun adopted her and treated her like his daughter and had her tutored, though he had soon learned that wasn't necessary as she even outwitted the tutor on one occasion.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Wang Yun stepped outside with a sigh and muttered something. Diao Chan wiped away her tears and stood up. "Is something wrong father?" Diao Chan asked startling Wang Yun.

"No nothing my dear, besides I just wish that there was something I could do to end Dong Zhuo's tyranny..." Wang Yun sighed, Diao Chan allowed a sad smile to grace her lips. "What did he do this time?"

"He shoved a bomb down the throat of a minister that didn't agree with him, we were forced to watch as it blew off his head. And Dong Zhuo even laughed when the bits of his head went flying everywhere!" Wang Yun complained about what happened as Diao Chan touched his arm in a comforting way.

"Father if there is anything I can do to help you... I'll do it for you. Because you took me in when I had nothing and you treated me.. You treated me so kindly... And I'd do anything to repay you..." Diao Chan said as broke into tears remembering her father's kindness.

Wang Yun stared at his daughter and in the moonlight he truly realised how beautiful she was and a plan came to mind. "Wait, Diao Chan dry your tears. There is something you can do. Though I would completely understand if you refused to do it."

Diao Chan listened eagerly as he told her the ploy, her smile faded from her face. "I understand father, for you I'll step into the darkness and kill the tyrant to repay the kindness you have shown me."

"Diao Chan, you know you don't have to do it if you don't want to." Wang Yun said but Diao Chan quickly shushed him. "No. I'll dance my way to their hearts and cut out Dong Zhuo's. I will not fail you."

The ploy was for Wang Yun to introduce Diao Chan to Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo separately and get Diao Chan to make them both fall in love with her and tear their bonds so that they hated each other and she would convince Lu Bu to kill Dong Zhuo.

It was a risky ploy but Diao Chan accepted it anyway. She wouldn't and couldn't fail her father, if meant that they had to become a family of liars then so be it. Dong Zhuo's tyranny needed to come to an end, and she would be the one to do it.

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**That's the chapter! Hope it was good, please review!**


	2. Lu Bu's Introduction

**Here is the next chapter to this story! It introduces Lu Bu and it'll be a short chapter. Zhang Liao may make an appearance but he will be mentioned at least in this chapter. Anyway please review!**

**Assassin master ezio 91: Hehe thanks, glad that you liked how I portrayed her, though I hope she's similar to the one from Betrayals of the Heart.**

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Diao Chan sat in the room, combing her hair. It had been a mere day since the day they have thought of the plan and it was progressing smoothly. She and her father had planned it out into steps. The first steps were basically meeting Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo.

The later steps were just getting them both to fall in love with her. "Not much longer until I leave this house... This life... My freedom..." Diao Chan muttered to herself as she gripped the wooden flute tighter.

This day was going to set the plan in motion, she could still back out if she wanted to... _'No, I can't back out now. I have to do this, it's too late for me to back out... I'm going to step into the darkness and slay the tyrant who haunts my dreams.'_

"Diao Chan, the servant just came back. He told me that the headdress had been delivered and Lu Bu was enamoured with it and put it on his head immediately, he's coming over to thank me. Then, when I order some drinks, I want you to come over and I'll introduce you and then you charm him." Wang Yun said as Diao Chan nodded.

"Yes father. I'll dance my way into his heart." Diao Chan said with false bravery. She was going to have Lu Bu wrapped around her finger, the world was no match for her charms and neither would the strongest warrior be. That she would prove.

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Later at night time, Diao Chan was busy preparing herself when she heard her father call out for refreshments. The servant gave them to her and she stood up, carrying the drinks as she pondered on what she had heard from the conversation.

It was obvious that Lu Bu held a great dislike for his adopted father Dong Zhuo, that just made her work even easier. But he also talked about this Zhang Liao man... From what he described it sounded like he would figure her scheme if it was drawn out for too long.

Diao Chan walked in slowly as Wang Yun hastily stood up and walked next to her. "Lu Bu, I would like for you too meet my daughter. Her name is Diao Chan, my thanks for the drinks." Wang Yun introduced and quickly drunk most of the drinks. That was part of the plan too.

Lu Bu stared awestruck at the beautiful woman in front of him, her beauty had shocked him into silence. Diao Chan giggled, pretending to be charmed by his reaction. Even though it was kind of cute...

"Lord Lu Bu, it is a pleasure to meet you. I apologise that my father has already drank most of the drinks." Diao Chan apologised with a flirtatious tone as she walked away, on purpose she left a lingering touch on his shoulders.

"Please stay Diao Chan." Lu Bu said quickly before trying to cover that he wasn't still awestruck by her beauty, "I would like to get too know such a beautiful woman better. I have heard rumours that you are a talented dancer."

"Oh my Lord. I couldn't, I would love to get to know you better as well. But I am much too busy..." Diao Chan trailed off, pretending to be upset. All she needed was for Lu Bu to try to get her to stay one more time and then she'd charm him even more.

"No please, stay." Lu Bu said, his eyes had a look in them, that made Diao Chan feel an ounce of pity about what she was going to do to them. "Ok, my Lord. I'll stay only for you though." Said Diao Chan with a smile.

As she sat down the two talked, Lu Bu getting more and more comfortable in her presence and acting like the rumours had said about him. He was attracted to her and she could feel it, and something was drawing her towards him as well... Something she couldn't explain.

As the night progressed Diao Chan even danced for him. The ploy was going along nicely, and then Wang Yun, pretending to be drunk called out. "Lu Bu, how would you like to marry my daughter?"

Lu Bu checked to see if Wang Yun was joking, but it soon became obvious that Wang Yun was serious. "Hmph! I would like for her to be my wife, but what about her?" Lu Bu asked.

Diao Chan smiled, "I would like nothing more." Wang Yun and Diao Chan shared a look with each other. But before Lu Bu could ask Diao Chan to go home with him, Wang Yun spoke again. "But first, I'll have to introduce her to Dong Zhuo and get his permission."

Lu Bu agreed, somewhat reluctantly and left. Diao Chan and Wang Yun smiled at each other, the ploy was a success and soon Dong Zhuo would be dead.

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**Hope you liked it, the next chapter is her meeting Dong Zhuo, so it may be similar to this one. Also this story is nearly halfway finished. At chapter 3, it will be halfway.**


	3. The Tyrant Enters

**So here is the next chapter! This officially marks the halfway point of this story. So yeah, this story will end soon but it was only meant to be short, so readers seriously review please! It also introduces Dong Zhuo and it may be similar to the last chapter. So please forgive me if it shares to many similarities with the previous chapter, but this one will be much shorter then the last.**

**Assassin master ezio 91: Thanks! Well the ploy will only get better, hopefully. Hope you enjoy this chapter just as much!**

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Diao Chan closed her eyes and sighed. She was nervous about the coming night. Some people would say that we she was just being stupid, a woman of her beauty had nothing to worry about. But that wasn't true, she had plenty to worry about.

For one, she could completely break down and reveal her intentions. Another reason to be worried about was that Dong Zhuo wouldn't like her, the list of reasons just went on and on. Plus she had seen Dong Zhuo and she dreaded the idea of being his servant.

"Why... Why did this have to happen to me...?" Diao Chan asked, mainly to herself. The idea of being a seductress was not something she enjoyed, she was a mere dancer and was fine with just being that. But she couldn't back out now.

No she wouldn't or couldn't she had gone to far in already, if she backed out now... Diao Chan couldn't even think of what would happen. Nor did she want to. But for now, she knew she had to stay positive.

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During night, the same performance had gone. Except for a few key differences, Wang Yun wasn't pretending to be drunk and Wang Yun straight up said that he would like for Dong Zhuo to meet Diao Chan and make him her mistress.

She took a few breaths to calm her nerve before she entered, smiling and bowing to the Lord with false kindness. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Dong Zhuo. I have heard much about you." Said Diao Chan who stood up from her bow and looked into Dong Zhuo's eyes.

They were filled with lust and she was disgusted by him. He was a greedy pig and an ugly one at that. Diao Chan felt that him being compared to a pig was an insult to all the pigs in the land.

"So you're Diao Chan?" Dong Zhuo asked, his voice hopeful and his glance lustful. He wanted this beautiful woman all to himself and soon he would have her. "Yes my Lord. I am pleased that you like what you see." Diao Chan replied, hiding the disgust from her voice.

"Come sit here Diao Chan." Dong Zhuo said and gestured to the seat next to him. False smiling Diao Chan accepted it and sat next to Dong Zhuo, moving closer to him and proceeded to seduce him. It was clear that it was working on the tyrant.

The night went on rather uneventfully but similar to the last night, Diao Chan danced for Dong Zhuo, except this time it was a different type of dance, one that allowed Dong Zhuo a better view of her cleavage and legs.

She had also played the erhu, which Dong Zhuo was pleased at the fact that she could play so well. "She'll be a great addition to my paradise!" Dong Zhuo stated before adding. "Tomorrow morning, a carriage will come and she'll be moving to my palace as one of my concubines."

Diao Chan pretended to be pleased by the news as did Wang Yun and they bid him goodnight, with Diao Chan wishing him luck and pretended to cry about being apart from him.

Only when Dong Zhuo had left did Diao Chan cry for real. Tomorrow she would be leaving this house, her life and everything. She didn't want this to happen but the first part of the plan was complete.

Now in Wang Yun's arms, Diao Chan broke into more tears. This wasn't she wanted for her future, she was about to go right into the heart of the darkness in this land and she didn't like it, not at all.

Tomorrow she wold have to dance her way through and manage to get Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu to stay in love with her, the coming dance would prove to be the most difficult one of her life, that she was certain of.


	4. The Crane Returns

**Here is the next chapter! Sorry for the delay, this is a again a short chapter. It may feature Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo but it most likely won't, and they'll only be mentioned by Diao Chan most likely. Anyway this is the 2nd last chapter of the story and will have a special bit in it, let's see if you can figure it out.**

**Assassin master ezio 91: Yeah poor Diao Chan, it'll only get worse for her though. Thanks, glad you think so!**

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Diao Chan stared sadly at her feet as cried as the carriage hit a bump and sent her flying to the ground. She had always hated this type of transport, she would much rather walk or ride a horse. Less bumps and it went quicker that way.

But she had to ride a carriage she knew that, after all with all the drama that would soon unfold she needed to go slow. This carriage had been sent by Dong Zhuo, the morning after they had met. He couldn't wait until she was his, Diao Chan knew that. Phase 1 was complete.

As much as the carriage sucked, it gave her time to think. Time she needed, her dance had began and she needed to perfect it quickly so that they were no flaws in her routine. If anyone figured out her scheme...

There was nothing left that she could do. The ploy had already started and her father had said goodbye to her, Diao Chan had broke down in tears. Nothing was holding her together when she left him.

Everything sucked right now... All Diao Chan wanted was to back out right now, the ploy was a good one but Chan wasn't that willing to become a stupid little slut and manipulate both men and possibly even more.

"No, I must do this... My life, my father's, the Emperor's and many more depend on this. I can't let them down, I just can't." Whispered Diao Chan to herself, as much as wanted to just run away right now and disappear forever she knew she couldn't.

Just a couple more pushes and she would have complete control over Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu. Maybe even be free in a couple of days from the responsibility that she forced upon herself. If only Dong Zhuo had died fighting against the Yellow Turbans.

Diao Chan had very soon realized that she may have to participate in a battle, the thought of that terrified her. She was a mere dancer, she had no knowledge on how to fight. But to carry out her mission, she knew she couldn't stay in the light.

Something caught Diao Chan's eyes, a whip. A beautiful chain whip, it was deadly yet beautiful at the same time. Then and there Diao Chan knew she had found her weapon, a chain whip wouldn't be too hard to use. Plus she could fight as if she was dancing, it would be simple.

The rest of the ride progressed slowly, Diao Chan had found it boring as the person leading the carriage kept making stops or slowed down for no particular reason. It was like the Gods that resided in the heavens wanted her to suffer!

And when she arrived at the palace, she almost cried tears of joy but she met a surprise when the man spoke to her. "I'm sorry this happened to you.." Diao Chan stared at him, not knowing what he was going on about. "Excuse me?"

"You know what I'm talking about, my lady. The ploy, I am quite good friends with Wang Yun. He told me everything, don't worry. I'll help keep you safe." Diao Chan's mouth widened in shock he knew, he knew everything. She smiled thankfully at him before something else caught her eye.

It was the crane from before, the very same crane which had saved her life 12 years ago... It was still alive and it looked right into her eyes as it flew down a street, she gave chase but as she went through the street, the crane was gone.

The crane just like vanished in thin air... How was that even possible? As she looked in at a waterfall she could see Lu Bu angrily approach her, she started to cry. It was time to start phase 2 of the ploy.


	5. The Escape

**Here is the last chapter to A Forced Smile. I hope it's really good and so when this chapter is finished the short 5 chapter prologue story will meet it's end. So please review since this is the last chapter! It also features 3 new characters to the storyline.**

**Anyway enjoy and don't forget to review even if it's just one word! Also this chapter takes place the day after the last chapter. Also every character uses their DW8 appearance apart from Diao Chan who is in her DW7.**

**Assassin master ezio 91: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! Yep, you were right. The crane is indeed Zuo Ci.**

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All Diao Chan could do was think about how she had already completed phase 2 of the ploy. Lying to Lu Bu about Dong Zhuo wanting to meet his possible daughter in-law and then demanded that she be made his concubine while lying to Dong Zhuo that Lu Bu had tried to rape her.

Their relationship was already decaying. Soon enough they would be at each other's throats and the dog would tear out his master's neck. Diao Chan was forced out of her day dream when she heard the clang of the sword.

She glanced to Dong Zhuo and they shared a look, Cao Cao had tried to kill Dong Zhuo, Diao Chan knew what it was about but he didn't. It was another part of one of her father's ploys, Cao Cao was meant to kill Dong Zhuo when he wasn't expecting it but he failed.

And Diao Chan could tell it would be up to her to save Cao Cao from his fate. Dong Zhuo ordered Cao Cao's death and two guards tried to kill him but instead they ended up dying themselves. In a desperate attempt Cao Cao flung a sword at Dong Zhuo only for Lu Bu to knock it aside.

Dong Zhuo banged a gong and soon soldiers were storming into the room like a flood rushing in to the streets. Cao Cao quickly tried to flee and succeded. Diao Chan stared at him as she quietly and skilfully stepped into the shadows.

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Watching from the shadows Diao Chan stared silently as Cao Cao and his two generals Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan desperately tried to escape, she roll her eyes at their attempt. Feeling pity for them, they were going all the wrong ways.

It was time to help them, the land needed Cao Cao right now. It would be a shame if he was to die right now and in this shameful way, no one deserved that except for maybe Dong Zhuo.

And for the first time since it had started, Diao Chan stepped into the light again, hiding behind a corridor so she wouldn't be seen by Dong Zhuo's army. "Over here, Lord Cao Cao!" Called out Diao Chan quietly as Cao Cao saw her and ran over his generals following.

"Diao Chan? What are you doing here? Why are you serving Dong Zhuo?" Cao Cao asked as Diao Chan explained everything about the ploy. "How do we know that we can trust you?" Xiahou Dun asked, suspiciously looking at Diao Chan, who was about to respond but Cao Cao did it for her.

"I have known Diao Chan for quite a while, Dun. I know we can trust her." Diao Chan smiled at Cao Cao, before speaking once again. "I can show you a secret way, but it will be quite a while before we get their. I only request one thing as a favour, if anyone sees me. Kill them."

"Don't worry miss, we'd kill them anyway." Xiahou Yuan said and Diao Chan crept forward, looking to see if there was anyone there. When there wasn;t she moved quickly, not wanting to look behind her and see the carnage.

As they advanced Diao Chan stopped suddenly as a group of soldiers appeared in front of her, asking why she was there and aiding Cao Cao. Before they cold run off to report this information to Dong Zhuo, they were swiftly killed by Xiahou Yuan.

"You have my gratitude." Diao Chan stated as she move fast and silently, being even more careful this time. Eventually they arrived at the escape point. "Here. Follow this path, seal it with that boulder. If you do that you should be fine."

"Thank you, Diao Chan. But why don't you come with us?" Cao Cao asked her, Diao Chan let a sad smile grace her face as she looked down briefly. "I can't, as much as I want to. I owe my father and I can't let him down."

Cao Cao nodded and he and his cousins entered the path and sealed it, Diao Chan stayed there unmoving watching the boulder wishing that she actually decided to escape with them.

She stayed like that for a few seconds before sliding back into the shadows and into the darkness. Diao Chan had just missed her last opportunity to escape from her horrid fate, yet for some reason she didn't take it. And yet she could only wonder what would happen next.

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**There's the last chapter. A Forced Smile has officially ended, anyway I hope the story and this chapter were good! Please review!**


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